Once Upon an Undertale
by Mrs. Tophat
Summary: A young boy falls underground, meeting a variety of monsters, whom have been trapped for such a long time. Will he stay true to his path, or succumb to the spirit of wrath?
1. The treacherous flower

**_Prologue_**

 ** _A long time ago, two races ruled over the Earth; Humans and Monsters. One day, war broke out between the two races. In the end, the humans were victorious, sealing the monsters underground with a magic spell. Any human that fell underground was never seen again._**

 ** _Many years later…_**

 ** _Present_**

A young boy opens his eyes to find that he is on a bed of golden flowers. He sits up and views his surrounding, coming to the conclusion that he is in an underground cavern. He looks up, seeing a bright beam of sunlight streaming into the cavern from WAY up high.

He stands, wearing a dark black and grey striped sweater and black pants and white shoes. He had green eyes, pale skin, and brown hair with freckles on his face and a kind smile.

He makes his way to a small opening in the rocky wall, following a long corridor to a small room. As he steps into the room, he spots a brown, red and white flower on the ground in the center of the room. But it's somehow… alive.

The flower turns to the small boy, an uneasy feeling settling on him as the flower smiled at the boy.

"Howdy! I'm August! August the Flower! You're new to the Underground, aren't' cha? Golly! You must be so confused!" the flower, August, chirps in a cheerful tone.

The boy gulps and nods, replying with, "Yes."

August giggles and says, "Someone ought to teach how things work down here! I guess little old me will have to do! Are you ready?"

The boy nods again.

"Let's go!"

Suddenly, a red, glowing, heart-shaped necklace appears around the boy's neck and a small, yellow, glowing bracelet appears around the boy's wrist. The bracelet displays a little yellow bar and "HP- 20/20" next to the bar, along with "LV 1" on the opposite side of the bar.

August giggles again and says, "You see that heart? That is your SOUL. The very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts out weak, but can get stronger by getting a lot of LV."

The boy narrows his eyes and asks, "What's LV?"

The small flower replies, "What's LV, you ask? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't cha?"

August winks as little white, glowing speckles begin appearing behind him.

"Well, down here, LOVE is shared through… little, white, 'friendliness pellets'! Grab as many as you can, now!"

The boy smiles and walks towards one of them, and touches it, only to be knocked to the ground, gasping in surprise and pain as August's face transforms from the formerly friendly smile into an evil and menacing grin.

His tone also changes into a deeper and threatening pitch as he says, "You **IDIOT**. In this world, it's KILL or BE KILLED. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this!?"

The white pellets now surround the boy, and the boy is unable to move. The boy looks at his bracelet, only to see that the, "HP 20/20" has changed into, "HP 1/20" and the yellow bar has turned into a nearly completely red bar, with only a sliver of yellow remaining.

August winks at the boy and snarls, " **DIE**."

August cackles in delight as the boy struggles to move, and as the white pellets begin closing in on the boy.

The boy braces to be killed, while August cackles at him.

Suddenly, the white pellets disappear, leaving a frown on August's face. A flame appears next to the small flower, moving and effectively knocking August away, earning a grunt from the small flower.

The boy is finally able to move again, and another, taller being appears, kneeling down to the boy.

"What a terrible creature! Torturing such a poor, innocent youth!" a feminine voice says in a worried tone.

The boy flinches when the creature touches his shoulder, but gets a better look at the creature.

She was tall, much taller than him. She had hazel eyes, long eyelashes, a kind, motherly smile, and kind demeanor. She had long, platinum blonde hair, two fangs in her teeth when she smiled, and two, long goat horns. She wore a light purple robe that displays a white Delta Rune on the front.

She gives the boy a smile and says in a gentle tone, "Ah, do not be afraid, my child. I am EMMA, caretaker of the RUINS. I pass through this place everyday to see if anyone has fallen down. You are the first human to come here in a long time. Come! I will guide you through the catacombs."

She helps him up and walks out of the room into a large, purple room, with two staircases leading up to a doorway. Emma walks up the one on the right and waits for the boy up top.

The boy steps into the leaf pile between the two staircases, a smile spreading across his face.

The shadow of the ruins looms above, filling the boy with determination.


	2. A sad ghost and a kind mother

The boy follows Emma through the doorway, where six, grey stone panel are positioned on the purple brick floor. Beyond that was a purple door with a black Delta Rune

Emma kindly turns to the boy and says, "Welcome to your new home, innocent one. Allow me to educate you of the operation of the RUINS."

She turns back and steps over the panels, causing the door to open. Emma walks through the door, with the child following closely behind her.

After entering another hallway, the boy is instructed to press several switches, which he does with no problem. Emma gives the child a kind smile, as they approach a single training dummy standing near another doorway.

"When you encounter a monster, you with enter a FIGHT. When you do, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict." Emma instructed the boy, gently patting his shoulder.

The boy approaches the dummy and his heart-shaped locket begins glowing again and his bracelet lights up with his HP fully restored and his LV still on 1.

He stares at the dummy, wondering if he should attack the dummy, act on the dummy, or just leave the dummy alone. He decides to tap the dummy on the shoulder. The dummy falls over, causing Emma to chuckle.

"Ah, my child! The dummies are not for fighting! We do not want to harm anyone, do we?" she says with a smile. The boy hangs his head in slight shame and follows Emma out the door.

After going through a few rooms, the boy is jolted when a dwarf jumps on the boy, causing him to fall to the ground.

While the boy is slightly annoyed at the sudden FIGHT, he compliments the dwarf. However, the dwarf is unable to understand what the boy said, but was flattered anyway.

The boy decides to spare the dwarf, watching the dwarf flee back to the darkness in the RUINS.

Emma and the boy come upon another door, when Emma turns around and says, "My child, I must attend to other matters right now. But if you need me, here is a cell phone."

Emma hands a blocky and ancient phone to the boy, kisses his forehead, and murmurs, "Be safe, my child."

And with that, Emma leaves the boy alone, disappearing through the door.

The boy decides to leave the room and comes upon another room. He sees a pile of red leaves in the corner, and decides to playfully crinkle in the leaves. Doing so fills the child with DETERMINATION.

The boy finally gets up and proceeds to the door on the other side of the room. But before he can do that, his cell phone begins to ring. He picks it up and answers the call.

"Hello?"

"Hello! This is Emma! I was just wondering; do you prefer cinnamon or butterscotch?"

The boy thinks for a moment, then gives Emma an answer.

"I think I prefer butterscotch."

He hears Emma give a small chuckle and say, "Alright. I know what your preference is, but would you turn your nose up is you found cinnamon on your plate?"

"No, of course not."

"Alright, thank you my child."

He hangs up and places the phone back into his pocket.

The boy decides to finally go through the door, but is startled by the sight of what appears to be the sleeping form of a large ghost, blocking the next door. The ghost has curly hair and thin-rimmed glasses framing his face.

But, the child approaches the ghost, intending to move it.

"ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ..." the ghost murmurs, trying and failing to fake being asleep.

The boy smiles and nudges the ghost, but upon doing so, the ghost opens his eyes, and the boy's heart begins to glow again.

"Sorry to bother you... I didn't mean to..." the ghost mumbles, letting a few tears fall down his face, landing on the child, causing him to yelp in pain, decreasing his HP.

"What's your name?" the child asks the crying ghost.

The ghost wipes his tears away and mumbles, "Archieblook."

The boy gives Archieblook a patient smile. The ghost begins to cease his crying, and returns the smile to the boy.

"Hey, can I show you something?" Archieblook asks.

The boy smiles and nods. Archieblook smiles and begins crying again, but the tears fall up, and creates what looked like a top hat on the top of his head.

"I call this 'dapper blook'." the now happy ghost says to the child.

The boy's heart stops glowing and the ghost says, "I like to hang out in the RUINS and feel like garbage. But, I made a friend today. I'll get out of your way now."

Archieblook vanishes, allowing the boy to go through the final door.

He stumbles upon a large and twisted tree, where Emma is standing.

"Oh, my child! Are you alright?" he asks, rushing over to the boy.

The boy smiles and nods, causing Emma to relax.

"Here, I have a surprise for you." she says, walking forward to a large house, with the boy following her closely behind her.

The boy smiles at the house, and is filled with DETERMINATION.

The two enter the house, and the warm and cozy feeling comforts the child.

Emma turns to him and says, "Do you smell that? That's the surprise! I made you a butterscotch-cinnamon pie! Since it is your first time here, I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

The boy giggles, causing Emma to smile.

Emma then says, "I have another surprise for you. A room of your own!"

She beckons the boy to follow her, which he does to a small door in the hallway next to what looked like a basement.

Emma sniffs the air, then with widened eyes, blurts out, "Is something burning? Make yourself at home!"

She then rushes away, disappearing from sight.

The boy enters the room, and sees a small bed, a closet, a dusty picture frame, and a pile of children's shoes in a disparity of sizes.

The young child begins to notice just how sleepy he is, and he sits down on the bed, his eyes getting heavier and heavier, until he finally falls asleep on the nice and cozy bed.


	3. A mother's love and a flower's warning

The boy woke several hours later, looked to his right and saw a wonderful slice of pie on a plate beside the bed he was resting on. He smiled, got off the bed and picked up the pie, placing it into his backpack, and walking out of the room. He went down the hallway and into the living room, where Emma was sitting on a big easy chair, next to a fire, working on a crossword puzzle. She looked over to see the boy staring at her with sleepy eyes.

She smiled at him and said, "Ah, you're awake, my child. Did you rest well?"

He nodded with a smile as Emma put her puzzle down and said, "You know, I've always wanted to be a teacher. But, I guess it's not that surprising, heehee."

The boy chuckled, but something nagged at the back of his mind. He needed to find a way home. The surface could be missing him. But Emma had been so kind and motherly to him.

"How do I leave the Underground?" he asked her.

Her smile faded slightly, but she said, "I don't think that's important. I think we should work on getting you an education, since you're going to be staying here a while."

But the boy persisted.

"I want to go home." he said politely.

At this point, Emma smile had completely vanished, "This is your home now, my child."

One more time, the boy said, "Please let me go home."

Emma's left eye twitched, as she stood up and said, "Excuse me, my child. I have something to attend to."

She left the living room, and descended down a set of stairs down to a basement. The boy followed after her, seeing the same purple bricks from the RUINS decorating the walls.

Emma looked back and said, "My child, go upstairs and play."

The boy continued to follow her down the winding halls. She turned to him again and said, "Please go upstairs and play. This is your final warning."

The boy shook his head and continued to follow Emma to a huge purple door.

Emma turned around and said, "You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. I am going to destroy this only exit out of here. Stay with me here. I'll keep you safe. We can be together."

The boy shook his head in denial and said, "I have to leave. I need t go home."

"You think you can make it on your own. Fine. Prove it. Prove to me you are strong enough."

All of a sudden, the boy's heart locket began glowing again, as did his bracelet. His HP was still full 20/20, his LV still at 1, and his EXP was still at 0.

Emma gave the boy a sad look as fire spouted from her hands, and floated towards the boy. He thought back to when Emma had saved him from August, when she taught him to handle FIGHTs, and when she took him into her home and cared for him as her own.

"You have to let me leave." the boy said, dodging the flames coming from Emma.

Emma remained silent as she continued firing attacks at him.

"Please, let me go. I don't want to hurt you." he pleaded with her.

Her lip quivered for a moment, but she still threw fireballs at the boy.

"I can't stay here, Emma. You have to let me go." he said, getting hit by a fireball, lowering his HP.

A single tear fell from her eye, but she still fired attacks at the boy.

"If you love me, let me go. Please. I will see you again. You're the only one down here that's cared for me at all." the boy said, begging Emma.

Emma finally broke down, extinguishing the flames from her palms. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands, sobbing.

"I am so very sorry, my child. It was wrong of me to think I could keep you here. You may go, but please, do not return." she choked out, wiping tears from her eyes.

The boy approached her, holding onto her shoulder, giving her a rub and a pat. She grabbed his hand and kissed it. Emma stood and pulled the boy into a warm and loving embrace.

"I will miss every moment you are gone." Emma whispered, causing the boy to hold her back.

He let go, approached the door and opened it. When he was halfway through the door, he looked back at Emma, who was smiling at him with tears in her eyes. He smiled back, walked through the doors, and shut it behind him.

The boy walked through the hall behind the door, and walked into a room with a single pillar of light with a path of grass, and a long doorway behind it. And sitting under that pillar of light... with August the Flower.

The young boy cautiously approached the demonic flower, causing August to grin viciously at the young child.

"Clever. Verrry clever. You think you're really smart, don't you?In this world, it's kill or be killed. You were able to play by your own rules. You spared the life of a single person." August taunted at the young boy.

The boy narrowed his eyes at the flower and said, "I don't want to hurt anyone. Emma was kind to me. You won't make me hurt anyone, August."

August only chuckled and said, "I bet you feel really great about yourself, don't you? You didn't kill anybody this time! But what will you do when you meet a relentless killer? You'll die, and you'll die, and you'll die! Until you go back to your SAVE point and decide, 'To Hell with this! I'll just kill them! I can always just RESET and start over. Maybe it will be different this time!'"

The child glared at the flower and firmly said, "No, I won't! I'm not going to hurt anyone! You can't make me!"

The flower giggled and said, "Or perhaps you'll just give up on this world entirely, and let ME inherit the power to control it! I am the prince of this world's future! But, don't worry my little monarch! My plan isn't regicide! This is SO much more interesting!"

Suddenly, the flower's face turned into that familiar demonic grin, and his chilling laughter broke into the air, frightening the boy. Then the flower sunk into the earth, vanishing.

The boy shivered from the chilling experience, and went through the doorway on the other side of the room.


	4. Skeletons in the Snow

The young boy exited the door, hearing it slam behind him, causing him to jump. He looked out at his surroundings. Snow and trees everywhere. The wind gently blowing past him. It was cold, and he shivered, but it was peaceful. He looked over to his left and noticed a bus by the wall, and upon closer inspection, saw a camera in it. But, he didn't really care about it at the time. He walked along the path of trees and into the forest. He jumped when he heard something in the far distance, but he continued walking. He glanced over his shoulder, and thought he saw something, but when he looked again, nothing was there. He came upon a gate-looking thing, and froze when he heard footsteps behind him.

" _Human. Don't you know how to greet a new mate? Turn around, and shake my hand."_

The boy turned around a saw a shadowy figure standing behind him. The figure had its hand outstretched towards the boy. The child took the figure's hand, and upon doing so, heard the unexpected sound of an airhorn.

At this point, the figure behind to laugh, shedding the dark robes on its body, revealing a skeleton-looking creature with brown hair, stubble along his jawline, a small, silver earring on the right side of his skull where his right ear would be, a black leather jacket, black shirt and black pants, and a hook on his right hand.

The skeleton began laughing hysterically, causing the boy to be very much confused.

"Ah, the old airhorn in the hand trick. Gets them every time!" the skeleton wheezed out in between laughter.

The skeleton stops laughing, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye with his hook, looks at the boy and says, "Ahoy, there. I'm Killian. Killian the Skeleton."

The boy smiles and nods, while Killian smirks and says, "I'm actually supposed to be on guard for humans right now, but, y'know. I don't actually feeling like capturing anybody. But my brother, Robin? He's a human hunting FANATIC."

The boy gulps, but Killian says, "Oi, don't worry, mate. He's practically harmless. But go through this gate thing. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone from going through."

The two go through gate and are near a sentry station and lamp that looks suspiciously like the boy's shape.

"Here he comes. Quick! Behind that conveniently shaped lamp!" Killian says.

The boy does as he's asked and goes behind the lamp.

As soon as he's behind the lamp, a larger looking skeleton came into the area, with a glare on his face. This new skeleton had light brown hair, stubble, had white battle body armor, a green cape, green boots, green gloves, and a bow and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

"Sup, brother?" Killian asked the taller skeleton.

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP' BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS, AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RE CALIBRATED YOUR PUZZLES! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING!?" the taller skeleton exclaimed at his shorter sibling.

"Hey, take it easy, Rob! I've gotten a ton of work done. A _skeleton_!" Killian said, letting out a chuckle. Robin, however, was not amused.

"ENOUGH, KILLIAN! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE LOOKING OUT FOR HUMANS! AND WHEN WE FIND AND CAPTURE ONE, FINALLY I, THE MIGHTY ROBIN HOOD, WILL BE A MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD! I'LL BE POPULAR! I'LL HAVE COUNTLESS FRIENDS! I'LL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING! BUT WITH YOU BEING SO LAZY, I HAVE TO DO ALL THE WORK!" Robin exclaimed, stomping his foot on the ground.

The boy had to cover his mouth so he wouldn't accidentally laugh.

"Geez, mate. Sounds like you're working yourself... down to the _bone_." Killian replied, laughing as Robin let out a frustrated groan.

"STOP IT, KILLIAN!" Robin yelled, stomping his foot into the snow.

Killian gave Robin a grin and said, "Come on, mate. You're smiling!"

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Robin sighed and said, "WHY DO I HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST FOR SOME RECOGNITION?"

He looked down at his brother and said, "I MUST GET BACK TO MY STATION! IN THE MEANTIME, TRY A LITTLE HARDER AT YOUR JOB AND PUT A LITTLE MORE... _BACKBONE_ INTO IT!"

Robin flapped his cape and began laughing as he ran back into the trees.

"NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

A moment later, Robin's head popped out of the trees.

"HEH!"

And with that, the Mighty Robin Hood was gone.

Killian chuckled and called out, "Alright, kid! You can come out now!"

The young boy stepped out from behind the lamp, a grin plastered on his face.

"Rob's never actually seen a human before. So, if you could play nice and complete my brother's puzzles, it'd really cheer him up." Killian said, nudging the child in the rib with his skeletal elbow.

The boy nodded and smiled, making Killian grin back at him.

"Thanks. Well, I'd better go. See you around, mate."

Killian left the area, leaving the child alone by the sentry station. The boy noticed how peaceful the snowy forest was, and smiled at the lamp that concealed him from Robin. And thinking of these things, filled the boy with DETERMINATION.


End file.
